


Je Ne Sais Quoi

by VerityGrahams



Series: The Houses Competition - Year Five - Lions [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Aberforth and his goats, Backstory, Daily Prophet, Daily Prophet articles, Gen, Rita Skeeter's first day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-25 00:22:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21347218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VerityGrahams/pseuds/VerityGrahams
Summary: Rita stood outside of The Daily Prophet's main office. It was her first day, and she was determined to be the best. With one final breath, she pushed the door and walked through into the busy newsroom. It was chaotic and exciting; everyone rushing about to get the final template to the editor in chief. It made her all the more excited to get stuck in.
Relationships: Rita Skeeter & Aberforth Dumblefore
Series: The Houses Competition - Year Five - Lions [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538866
Kudos: 1





	Je Ne Sais Quoi

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I do not own Harry Potter
> 
> Written for The Houses Competition
> 
> House: Lions
> 
> Class: Potions
> 
> Category: Drabble
> 
> Prompts: [Setting] Daily Prophet Newsroom
> 
> Wordcount: 957

Je Ne Sais Quoi

Rita Skeeter looked in the mirror. She wore her brown, square spectacles, her mousy brown hair was held in a neat bun, and she wore her new brown, tweed fitted robes. She was pleased with her appearance. This was precisely the kind of outfit that a serious journalist wore. She would be a special correspondent to the Ministry, writing about new policies and changes that would better wizarding society. She added the final touch of nude lipstick - sophisticated - and was out of the door.

Rita stood outside of The Daily Prophet's main office. It was her first day, and she was determined to be the best. With one final breath, she pushed the door and walked through into the busy newsroom. It was chaotic and exciting; everyone rushing about to get the final template to the editor in chief. It made her all the more excited to get stuck in.

When Rita met her supervisor, she was less than impressed. He looked like an overgrown peacock! He wore an extravagant blue pork-pie hat with a small red feather in the band and robes that were just as bright. It was not what she thought a serious journalist should look like.

"Ahem." Rita waited to be noticed.

The man looked up, taking in the image before him. One eyebrow raised in what appeared to be disapproval.

"They sent me you?" he asked, his tone telling Rita all she needed to know.

"I'm just as displeased. I want to be a serious journalist." Rita pursed her lips.

"Yes, well, people read _my_ column - a lot." He picked up a bag and thrust a large camera into her hands. "You can do the talking; no one trusts me anymore!" He then moved purposefully towards the door.

Rita immediately ran after Herman, clutching a notebook and a long brown, self-inking quill.

Through many annoying questions, she had found out where they were going - The Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. It seemed that Aberforth - the brother of famed Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore - had been arrested due to the use of charms on goats. Herman thought it could be a great story. This would be her first-ever interview.

* * *

Rita had talked with Aberforth extensively, and honestly, she could see that he had done absolutely nothing wrong. It was a case of the Auror Division making a mountain out of a molehill - if anything Aberforth was a victim of the justice system. He had explained about his father being in Azkaban, and sometimes Dumbledore's had to work extra hard to escape that notoriety. She sat at her new desk in The Daily Prophet News Room and wrote her article. It explained the gross misunderstanding and how prejudice in the Auror Office needed to be addressed.

Feeling proud of her work, she made her way to her supervisor's desk, handing over the article. She watched his face the entire time he was reading, scrutinising every frown, every raised eyebrow. All she wanted was to have done a good job.

"Rita," he began in a pitying voice. "No one will read that. You see it lacks in a certain _Je Ne Sais Quoi."_

"You mean it sticks to the facts, and therefore it's boring?"

"Do you want people to read your articles or not?"

"Yes! Of course, I do, but I want to tell people the truth! I want to highlight injustice and make the wizarding world a better place."

"I'm afraid you can only have one of those. You can write the truth, or you can have people read your articles," he said bluntly.

Rita nodded. What was the point of writing if no one bothered to read? She had to admit, she _wanted_ to be the most read journalist in wizarding Britain.

"Go back to the drawing board," he said, handing her the parchment, "and try to add something sensational - make it stand out."

* * *

Rita had sat at her desk for hours. She struggled with the fight between truth and all her moral ideals and her own ambitions as a writer. She reread the article, and Herman was right - it was droll, boring, and forgettable. She took a look at the facts and picked up a new quill - it was acid green. Rita found it hard to believe that anything she wrote with it would ever be considered boring. Her latest article had taken hours of work and more than one draft, but she had to admit that it was worth it. It certainly had a little more Je Ne Sais Quoi.

**ABERFORTH DUMBLEDORE: GOAT ENTHUSIAST**

**Aberforth - brother of the great Albus Dumbledore - has slipped through the fingers of Aurors. Rita Skeeter of the Daily Prophet can exclusively report that the black sheep of the Dumbledore family got off on a mere technicality - or perhaps it was more than that. Aberforth Dumbledore was brought up on charges due to the kinds of charms that he used on a goat that he keeps at his bar The Hogs Head, in Hogsmeade.**

"**I could never hurt my precious Bessy," Aberforth told the Daily Prophet reporter this week.**

**It is thought that the initial intelligence came from the Department of Magical Creatures Office - and although goats are not considered magical, the department was worried about the cruelty inflicted on the poor goat, Bessy, at the hands of Aberforth, a renowned goat enthusiast...**

Herman had loved it, of course. She had read later that year that The Hog's Head was struggling financially. It seemed that no one wanted to support the business of Aberforth anymore. It appeared that this article had ruined Aberforth's career, but it was just the beginning of Rita's. Soon she would be more notorious than Herman himself, and it all started with her acid-green quill.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, please comment and kudos!


End file.
